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Scripture:

Revelations 3: 1-6, 14-22
Luke 19: 1-10

Reflection:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me."

 

Have you ever felt left out?  Many of us have had this experience during our lives.  It can even happen in our experience of family.  We believe that our parents favor one or more of our siblings over us.  High School seems to be a rich environment for feeling excluded.  There are so many groups and cliques in our high school years, few of us don’t carry a few scars from that time in our lives.  Even at work, we often find there is an "in group" that has the greatest influence in the work environment.  Yes, in almost every aspect of our lives there seem to be favorites…and the "not-so-favored!"

Given that oh-so-common human  experience, it’s not all that surprising that we can transfer that same sense of inclusion-exclusion to our relationship with God.  We wonder whether God loves us, hears us, or cares about us.  We find ourselves saying such things as, "I hope I’ll get to heaven, but…"  I suppose it’s a natural reaction because most of us are so aware of the sin and selfishness that lies deep in our hearts even though others may not even see it.  This uncertainty can become a deep fear that somehow we just don’t measure up and so we are not worthy of God.  And, we feel quite helpless in the face of this fear. 

The Scripture readings today stand firmly on our side in this debate!  The reading from the Book of Revelations speaks clearly, and uncomfortably, about the reality of our vanity, self-delusion and sinfulness.  Yet it concludes that Christ will enter and be with "anyone (who) hears my voice and opens the door,…."   We don’t have to be perfect, we don’t have to be in the favored group, we need only open the door to Christ and He will enter and be with us.

Today’s Gospel certainly confirms the message from the Book of Revelation.  Jesus Himself tells his disciples that, "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."  Clearly, to be included in the "in-crowd" around Jesus is well within our own hands.  We need only open ourselves to Him and welcome Him into our lives.  May we all receive this grace today as we invite Christ into our lives.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of the Development Office for Holy Cross Province and is stationed at Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago.

Scripture:

Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5
Luke 18:35-43

Reflection:

Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Luke 18:42

Blindness is a challenge both to the blind person and to the community in which he or she lives. I would venture to say that not too many of us have been around blind people for extensive periods of time. I haven’t. My experience with the blind is limited. There was a blind woman that I attended theology classes with several years back and we were all impressed with her insights into her experience of God. She had clarity of vision that enabled her to see God even in the dark places of this world. Her faithful husband was ever at her side and her Seeing Eye dog never left her by herself. She had a sense of humor that put you at ease right away. She was an inspiration.

The last time I met a blind person was in Vietnam, not too long ago. She was a young woman, maybe not even twenty years old. She was being tutored in English by one of our Passionist missionaries there. I sat with them for a short period of time as they struggled with her reluctance to speak, to learn new words and to review lessons learned in the previous weeks. Another blind person joined us, a young man, who was a good student. He also tried very hard to help her. When I spoke to the missionary afterwards, he shared that he didn’t have much hope for her. Unlike many of the disabled students he had tutored over the years, she had no inner drive to overcome her disability.

Today’s gospel is not just about a blind beggar living near Jericho at the time of Jesus. It is about us. It is about our own blindness. It is about us when we try to prevent those who are trying to approach Jesus to be cured of some incurable disorder. It is about perseverance and faith. It is about us and our desire to approach Jesus even when we find people making it difficult for us to approach him. The Evangelist Luke packs so much into this simple account that it will take us a lifetime to unpack and savor the many graces that are contained in Gospel passage.

When was the last time we prayed for sight? Maybe just because we can see with our eyes, we may have never taken the opportunity to ask for sight, especially for insight into our many limitations we carry within our person or we find deeply embedded in our family, our workplace or community. And having been granted our insight, how many of us have given glory to God and began following Jesus more closely? At the same time, have we ever considered the times when we have prevented someone from approaching Jesus when he or she was in pain? There are times when we just give up on people just because they don’t seem to be able to be cured.

The Gospel passage also invites us to explore our own blind spots, our own blindness. This is not an easy task. Like the young blind woman in Vietnam, we may not even be aware that blindness is not the fundamental reason why she is having trouble learning. She lacks confidence in herself. She is reluctant to depend upon others. She is afraid to bump into her surroundings because she is blind. I found myself identifying with her. I found myself thinking about the times I failed to risk because I may fail, to depend upon others because I would look weak, and to put my faith in God who gives sight to the blind.

May we deepen our faith so we can ask Jesus for the gift of sight!

 

Fr. Clemente Barron, C.P. is stationed in San Antonio, Texas.

Scripture:

Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Mark 13:24-32

Reflection: 

We have to be a bit surprised at the readings for this Sunday.   Seems to be some negative, scary stuff.  "A time unsurpassed in distress.  Some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.  The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken."   We recognize, of course, these are apocalyptic readings from the Old Testament.  We notice the pain, the suffering.  Even in the Gospel we find that Jesus’ words contain that same darkness.  In both what the prophet Daniel and Jesus have to share the whole picture also includes the positive.  In Daniel we read, "The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever." And in Mark we read Jesus saying, "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky."

We must take in the whole teaching, both the dark and the bright side in both sources: Daniel and Jesus.  Eleonore Stump comments: "So what happens to Christians in bad times? Do they lose and lose and lose, as the Gospel of Matthew says?  But what is losing? Is losing a matter of being hated, afflicted, and killed? Christ was hated, afflicted, and killed, too. And yet Christ did not lose on the cross, did he? He won."

"In this world there is the end of the story, when Christ’s true disciples will be hated and afflicted (here on earth). And then there is the real and final end of the story, at the last judgment (in heaven), where each person will see himself as he really is."

"At that last chapter of each human story, the First Reading says, some people will be perceived as the horror and disgrace that they really are. Others will shine like the splendor of the stars."

"The winners in the battle of life, those who shine like stars, are those who have turned many to justice, the First Reading says. Acting with courage and integrity for justice, goodness, and truth can get a person hated, afflicted, and even killed, can’t it? "

"And now we can see what it is to escape bad times. Escaping is not a matter of living at ease in prosperity, honored by the world around you. Escaping is managing not to be turned into a horror and a disgrace by your own cooperation with the evil all around you that masquerades as good. "

"This is an escape that God will give anyone who is willing to take up his cross daily."

"And so the losing of the cross, the willingness to be hated and afflicted for the sake of justice – that is the way to the final winning where God’s people shine with the splendor of the stars."  (Sunday Website of St. Louis University)

You and I, it seems rather clearly, need to pray that we grab hold of the whole picture and make sure that Jesus is part of that whole picture of our lives.  Carrying our cross alone could weigh us down physically, psychologically and spiritually.  Jesus will never abandon you and me.  "Take up your cross and come, walk with me." 

 

Fr. Peter Berendt, C.P. is the associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

3 John 5-8
Luke 18:1-8

Reflection:

"But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  Luke 18:8

Today’s readings call us to live a greater faith life outside of the church walls. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Not just our next door neighbor, but also the strangers. A faith outside of us that is drenched in concern for the other. As it says in the James, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. He says plainly, that our faith is nothing without good works.

During this Year of Faith we are given the opportunity to exhibit our faith in our actions. Through good works we are called to evangelize, to spread the message of God’s love and mercy through social justice. To recognize our social responsibility in that we are not independent of each other but one body and spirit in Christ. A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying," Blessed Pope John Paul II

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary who is a shining example of a lay woman who put her faith into action. Of the Third Order of St. Francis, she devoted herself to works of charity and built a hospital where she cared for the sick until her death at the age of 24. She is the patroness for homeless people, widows, and dying children. St. Elizabeth cared for the most of vulnerable of her community. She is a guiding light to us on how to live our lives in service of each other.

The end of the Gospel poses a question to us: "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"   As we reflect today, let us think about what kind of faith others find in us. We are called to have an authentic commitment to God in faith, and then to go forth to live a life of love and generosity.

 

Kim Valdez is a Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas

Scripture:

Philemon 7-20
Luke 17:20-25

Reflection:

Paul’s letter to Philemon is unique in the New Testament.  It is a personal letter about a personal matter of concern to Paul. He must have been a prolific letter writer, but this is the only such letter to survive. It concerns a slave, Onesimus, who ran away from his master and possibly even stole from him. It is estimated that there were sixty million plus slaves in the Roman Empire. The economic strength of the empire was built on slavery. What Onesimus has done is punishable by death.

Onesimus flees to Rome to lose himself in the big city. Paul is under house arrest there, waiting for his trial. Somehow the runaway slave meets Paul, is converted and baptized, and begins to serve Paul’s needs. Then the full story comes out. Paul finds out that Onesimus is a runaway slave of Philemon who Paul himself had converted and baptized! It’s a small world.

With a fine sense of justice Paul decides to send Onesimus back to his master, Philemon. He carries with him a letter written in Paul’s own hand.  Paul asks Philemon to accept his slave back as "a brother…in the Lord" and to "welcome him as you would me".  Isn’t this the challenge each of us has when someone has harmed us? To forgive and to remember that the other person is my "brother in the Lord" is the hallmark of a faithful Christian. Philemon remains the master and Onesimus remains his slave, but the quality and tone of their relationship is forever changed. They are "brothers in the Lord".

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

Titus 1:1-9
Luke 17:1-6

Reflection:

Paul begins his letter to Titus by introducing himself as a "slave" of God. Some versions translate this word as "servant," but slave has the fuller meaning. Paul had taught that we have been "bought with a price." We are the property of and owned by God. We do not belong to the world or even ourselves. Slaves are 24/7 at their Master’s beck and call. Discipleship means more than just "following" Jesus. It means abandoning your will to the will of your owner. Paul had written this in Romans, "Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

Because of our country’s negative history with slavery, we don’t like the word "slave." Years ago the movie Roots showed the horrors of those bound by that unjust institution. Yet, ironically, Paul talks about our slavery in God as a position of true freedom. There are none so liberated as the children of God. As Jesus taught, those in true captivity are "slaves to sin." Children of God avoid sin, live in peace, and are not controlled by circumstances, events, and people.

One area where many are bound is in non-forgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and anger. After teaching about the necessity to forgive even many times, the apostles respond with "increase our faith." Jesus taught that even some faith in God has the power to uproot, not mulberries, but mulling over past wrongs and hurts. Resentment, bitterness, and codependency lead to slavery and misery.

Because we are slaves of God, we are not bound by sin or any way of behaving which our culture tries to infuse in people. We are a people owned by God. We are God’s property. Because we have faith in the one who has "bought us," we can live liberated, emancipated lives. The evil roots of slavery are planted in the sea. We can live in serenity even when offended. 

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 16 books and creator of television and radio programs airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/

 

Scripture:

1 Kings 17:10-16
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44 or 12:41-44

Reflection:

When Jody Richards saw a homeless man begging outside a downtown Washington, DC McDonald’s, he bought the man a cheeseburger.  No one noticed, except a sociologist doing a study on the poor.  And there was nothing unusual about this, except that Richards was homeless, too, and the 99-cent cheeseburger represented a lavish chunk of the $9.50 he had earned that day from panhandling.

Like that sociologist, Jesus was in the Temple doing his own study on the poor – and rich.  He "sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury."

In Temple area, scholars tell us, were 13 collection boxes, each fitted with a brass horn-like funnel.  The people would throw in their brass coins, which by their very weight and force would make a loud clanging noise.  The noisier the clanging, the more obviously generous, wealthy and powerful were the donors.  And all could admire their public display of generosity.

Then came a widow, who tossed two pitiful mites (Greek lepta), the smallest and least valuable coins into the brass funnel; they barely made a clink.  No one heard, no one noticed.

Except for a sociologist who observed the homeless Washington, DC beggar buying a cheeseburger for a fellow homeless person, no one noticed; there was no loud clanging to mark his remarkable generosity.  Except for Jesus, who observed the widow tossing her two coins, her mite, in the box, no one noticed; there was no loud clanging to mark her lavish trust in God.

Jesus was clearly unimpressed by the world’s ostentatious clanging of wealth and power and honor.  Instead, he calls us, like the widow, to lavish him with our trust in God.  To all the world, it will sound like the insignificant, weak clink of a widow’s mite.  But to the ears of Jesus, it will thunder with the deafening clang of a widow’s might.

 

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Feast of the Dedication
of the Lateran Basilica

Scripture:

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22

 

 

Reflection:

In the Lectionary the Common of the Dedication of a Church precedes Mary, the Martyrs and the other saints. If there is a hierarchy as I think there is, why would the Dedication of a Church precede Mary? Is it that the celebration of Church, the holy assembly of God’s people, includes Mary along with all of the saints in its celebration? It is also a good reminder to us that we celebrate not a church building but the primary symbol when we gather for liturgy, the people who are Church.

The Basilica, really Archbasilica in that it is the oldest of the four major basilicas of Rome, is the Episcopal seat of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome. It is called the Mother and Head of all the Churches of Rome and the world. As we have celebrated All Saints and our beloved dead, All Souls, we could see today’s feast as celebrating all the living, the Church, gathered symbolically with it’s head, the Bishop of Rome.

There is a selection of readings to choose from for the feast day. Paul to the Corinthians tells us ‘the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.’ We are the living body of Christ. The Old Testament selection from Ezekiel is particularly beautiful. He speaks of hearing the sound of water, being led by an angel to the gate of the temple that faces east. Ezekiel falls face down as the Lord enters the temple from the east. He hears God say, ‘this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the Israelites forever.’ We can think of Baptism, the early church facing the east making their profession of faith in the direction of the rising sun, the symbol of the radiance of Christ whose coming would be from the east. This is the Lord God who has threatened Israel by saying that he would leave the Temple and go off to the north, to the land of Babylon! How solid and reassuring to Ezekiel the image of the soles of God’s feet now being planted in the temple. God has returned. God does not abandon Israel.

I will choose John’s gospel of the cleansing of the temple. Jesus becomes the temple, he replaces it with himself. When asked for a sign authorizing his actions Jesus replies, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.’ John will interpret for us, ‘Actually he was talking about the temple of his body.’

Today is our celebration and we are honored. At baptism our places at the banquet table of the Eucharist were reserved for us. We could see the Basilica of John Lateran as one large gathering of all the Baptized, sort of the yearly family reunion, remembering our connectedness, gathering at a place that is meaningful to us all. At the reunion we hear the story of God marching into the temple from the East, making a wondrous display, as God takes up residence in our midst. But the story grows more exciting. God’s presence in our midst becomes living, Jesus, Our Savior. (The Lateran was first dedicated to Our Savior and bore that as its name). And as he is the Temple, we who are coheirs with the saints, we are temples of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in us.

Very happy feast day to all!

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of St. Joseph’s Monastery parish in Baltimore, Maryland.